Iacovelli wins Planning Board seat in Hopedale

Wednesday

May 14, 2014 at 12:03 AM

By Zachary ComeauDaily News Staff

HOPEDALE – For an election year with only one contested race on the Planning Board, only 259 voters came out to the polls – a turnout of less than one percent.Michael Iacovelli, a carpenter and lifelong Hopedale resident who has never served on a town board or committee, beat out Don Howes for the four-year seat on the board, winning by a vote of 165 to 86.Howes, who also serves on the Board of Assessors and Cemetery Committee, had served on the Planning Board since his appointment in October.Other incumbents who will retain their seats include Robert Burns, current selectmen chairman; James Morin, current Water and Sewer Commission chairman; John Farrar, current chairman of the Road Commisison; Nancy Verdolino, member of the Board of Library Trustees; Patricia Johnson, member of the Housing Authority; and Walter Swift, current Tree Warden.Swift also took a seat on the Board of Health.Swift has a long history of serving on town boards, including stints on the Board of Health, Council on Aging, Conservation Commission, Water and Sewer Commission, Planning Board and one term on the Board of Selectmen.Craig Adams, an auditor, took the School Committee seat left open by Dan Iacovelli, who did not seek reelection.No candidates came forward for two open seats – one on the Housing Authority and another on the Parks Commission, but Robert Jackson received 32 write-in votes for the latter.Six write-ins came in for the Housing Authority seat, but each were for a different candidate so nobody was elected to the five-year term.At 5 p.m., only 189 out of 3,784 registered voters had come to the polls."It’s been pretty slow," Town Clerk Janet Jacaruso said.In other election years with more contested races, Jacaruso said the number usually creeps into the 400s.Zachary Comeau can be reached at 508-634-7556 and zcomeau@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZComeau_MDN.